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Personally I would either buy a guitar to play or I would buy something as an investment and I wouldn't buy a 1980's Fender (I'm not well up on Gibsons).
The 1980's was a turbulent decade for Fender. The company changed hands during that decade (started the decade as CBS) and they moved manufacturing location if memory serves. I was a bass player in the 80's but I remember a friend buying a Tokai at that time. Tokai were gaining ground at that time in no small part due to the poor state of Fender. I recently did some work on that same guitar and it is a beauty. The 80’s Squires are well thought of (I bought a Squire Strat in about ’88) but I think that, as with any era, you need to take each one on it’s own merits.
I don't think there is any year you could buy blind and be sure of a great guitar.
Hmmm....?
However, does he actually want a guitar as an investment, or just something he can pass off to his wife as an investment? Occasionally Squier come up with something that everyone loves and could turn out to have modest investment potential, how about something from the original CV series or an early Mascis JM with a rosewood board, not a big investment risk and I’m sure he’d get his money back at least.
edit: typos
80s Gibsons... not really. Perhaps an '80 Silverburst Les Paul Custom, but that's going to be serious money already, so how much more it would go up is debatable.
I'd probably look for a Rickenbacker Susannah Hoffs model or something like that.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Although this is the period when both companies began looking to their past,
nothing I could think of is better than the modern equivalents.
Early AVRI's have tiny necks and will cost him similar money to a recent custom shop.
The Gibson Heritage 80 isn't even the right shape, and go for silly money now.
I'd echo that a Strat Plus may come good in the end, but he might be waiting a while.
I want an 89 Les Paul custom again, but they frequently sell for 2.5k to 3.5k these days. Not any cheaper than any of recent year.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Depending on his budget, and if he can bear the look of one, it shouldn't be the world's worst bet for your friend to 'invest' in a 1987 JEM 777 in Loch Ness Green (very expensive and rare), an unfaded JEM 777 SK from 1987-89 (more of these around but many have faded) or maybe one of the first run floral JEMs in good condition.
I'm really enjoying mine, it's a lot of fun and quite inspiring to play. Necks of the 80s models are not as thin as later models, as I understand it. The DiMarzio PAF Pro pickups are lovely; very vocal and not at all 'high gain-y'. With coil splits on both 'buckers they're surprisingly versatile. And would certainly be a contrast to his acoustic!!!
I sold a 70s Gibson LP Custom to help fund the JEM and that's an example of the potential pitfall of going with an 80s Fender - it happened to be a really great guitar but because of the overarching reputation of 70s Gibsons, it was never going to command a premium (also, to be fair, it had been modded with P90s - a good move but not a value-adding one). I think your friend could definitely find an 80s Gibson or Fender that's a great player, but not necessarily one that is also an 'investment' that will accumulate in perceived value. Investment in his playing... well that's another question...
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For many punters, Eighties Guitar suggests pointy headstocks and double locking vibrato systems. i.e. Jackson, Charvel, Ibanez and their imitators.
To be honest, I don't really get the scenario that the OP presents. If money is tight, spending money on any guitar with the hope of it having investment potential seems somewhat inadvisable to me. Better to forget the whole idea and be happy with the acoustic. If the couple are okay for money, I'm not sure why the OP's friend needs to justify the guitar to his wife. (I presume by "nice", he isn't contemplating only buying a Custom Shop Les Paul or something even more expensive?)
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HarrySeven - Intangible Asset Appraiser & Wrecker of Civilisation. Searching for weird guitars - so you don't have to.
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